women, including young girls, into prostitution.196 Women working in prostitution are especially vulnerable to violence and exploitation for a range of reasons, including because their status, always low and often unlawful, tends to marginalize them.197 Social and cultural attitudes towards women working in prostitution can also operate to increase their vulnerability. In its concluding observations on State reports, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has repeatedly identified a link between poverty and sexual exploitation and trafficking.198 The Trafficking Principles and Guidelines explicitly call on States to review and modify “policies that may compel people to resort to irregular and vulnerable labour migration … [including] examining the effect on women of repressive and/or discriminatory nationality, property, immigration, emigration and migrant labour laws” (Guideline 7.6). • Improved education opportunities, especially for women and children;199 • Improved access to credit, finance, and productive resources, especially for women;200 • Elimination of any de jure or de facto barriers to employment for vulnerable groups, including women;201 See, for example, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, concluding observations: Burkina Faso (CEDAW/C/BFA/CO/4-5, para. 30); Saint Lucia (CEDAW/C/LCA/CO/6, para. 20); Philippines (CEDAW/C/PHI/CO/6, para. 20); OSCE Action Plan, Recommendation IV(3.1) (“Improving children’s access to educational and vocational opportunities and increasing the level of school attendance, in particular by girls and minority groups”), Recommendation IV (3.2) (“Considering the liberalisation by governments of their labour markets with a view to increasing employment opportunities for workers with a wide range of skills levels”) and Recommendation IV (3.3) (“Developing programmes that offer livelihood options and include basic education, literacy, communication and other skills, and reduce barriers to entrepreneurship”). 199 OSCE Action Plan, Recommendation IV(3.3) (“Ensuring that policies are in place which allow women equal access to and control over economic and financial resources… Promoting flexible financing and access to credit, including micro-credit with low interest”). 200 Addressing poverty and inequality must be a priority for all countries, and for the intergovernmental organizations that represent them and promote their interests. While this is a broad and long-term goal that goes well beyond the specific issue of trafficking, there are certain steps that could be taken in this direction specifically to address those aspects of poverty and inequality that are most directly relevant to trafficking. These include the following: See also the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which notes that poverty forces women into situations “in which they are vulnerable to sexual exploitation” (para. 51). 196 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation No. 19, para. 15. 197 See, for example, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (CEDAW/C/PRK/CO/1, para. 42); Cambodia (CEDAW/C/KHM/CO/3, para. 20); Niger (CEDAW/C/ NER/CO/2, para. 26); Mozambique (CEDAW/C/MOZ/ CO/2, para. 26); Kenya (CEDAW/C/KEN/CO/6, para. 29). 198 As noted by the Special Rapporteur on violence against women: “The failure of existing economic, political and social structures to provide equal and just opportunities for women to work has contributed to the feminisation of poverty, which in turn has led to the feminisation of migration as women leave homes in search of viable options” (E/CN.4/2000/68, para. 58). See also OSCE Action Plan, preamble (“Further concerned that root causes of trafficking in human beings…remain insufficiently tackled, in particular causes such as poverty, weak social and economic structures, lack of employment opportunities and equal opportunities in general”), Recommendation IV (3.1) (“Enhancing job opportunities for women by facilitating business opportunities for small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs), organising SMEs training courses, and targeting them particularly at high-risk groups”), Recommendation IV (3.3) (“Taking appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of employment in order to ensure, on a basis of gender equality, the right to equal pay for equal work and the right to equality in employment opportunities”); Ouagadougou Action Plan, p. 3 (“States should endeavour to provide viable employment or other livelihood 201 (Continued on next page) COMMENTARY 109